Pro Tips for Identifying More Seller Opportunities

Finding home seller leads can be tricky, even for experienced real estate agents. If you find yourself stuck in a rut, then it may be time to reevaluate your strategies for generating seller leads. In addition, we’ve come up with some practical and creative ways to help you focus your efforts more effectively and identify more seller leads. Implementing these tactics may be just what you need to gain an edge in your competitive market.

Pro Tips: Getting more seller leads in real estate

1. Leverage your existing network to ask for referrals.

   This might be the most obvious, and for that reason, it could be overlooked. You don’t have to have fancy or expensive strategies in place. Lean on the people you know and have worked with: your past clients, lenders, and others in your sphere of influence. (If you’re not tracking these individuals in a real estate CRM – you should start.) After all, 36% of sellers who used a real estate agent in 2022 found the agent through a referral. You won’t get referrals if you don’t ask for them, so ask!

2. Build your personal brand using social media.

   Use social media like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube along with your real estate website to share value-add information and expertise on your local market to build your credibility. You can also consider sponsoring or organizing local and neighborhood events to get your name out there.

3. Share custom local market updates with your existing seller leads.

   Don’t forget your existing database. On a regular basis, email up-to-date summaries of active, pending, and sold properties matching their search criteria. Your CRM can automate this for you. To enhance your email marketing efforts and ensure maximum engagement, consider utilizing a reliable real estate email marketing software.

4. Display a call to action (CTA) to request a home valuation on your website.

   Specifically, display it on community pages and in search results. This is a really easy way to start a conversation with potential seller leads and provide value to them.

   

   Sourced from Oldfather Group

5. Drive traffic to home valuation landing pages.

   You can easily create these types of microsites specifically designed to attract seller leads with a home valuation CTA. These sites are integrated directly with your CRM – just like your main website – and you can control the metadata, including the H1 tags to boost your organic rankings. Add your Google Analytics, Google Ads conversion ID, or Facebook tracking pixel to track conversions on the site. To get the home value report, the lead provides key information about their home, along with their timeline for selling. This is then captured in your CRM as a seller lead, and you can choose how your leads are routed from there.

   Here are some real estate PPC strategies to use to drive that traffic.

   

6. Implement Google Seller PPC campaigns.

   Used in conjunction with a seller site on its own domain, we recommend running seller lead campaigns at the county level to ensure you’re geo-targeting a large enough area. Learn how one of our customers has done it.

7. Build a follow-up and lead nurturing system in your CRM.

   When a seller lead’s timeline is several months into the future, don’t forget about them. Use a combination of tags, action plans, drip campaigns, and real estate marketing automations in your CRM to create automated ways to stay in touch. You can also build a follow-up plan based on the lead’s engagement level. For example, you can automatically enroll a seller lead into an action plan after they visit your site a certain number of times. The action plan can have call tasks and automated texts and emails to make sure you’re reaching out at just the right time. If you use an AI tool, you can automate initial engagement with the lead to help qualify them and alert an agent when the lead is transaction-ready. AI tools are also handy to help re-engage older seller leads without a ton of effort. But don’t forget: a simple phone call can be very effective too, especially if it’s made at the right time.

8. Create seller-focused content.

   Whether you write blog posts on how to prep your home to sell or a landing page with tips on the home-selling process, seller-focused content can help augment the other ways you’re targeting these leads. This content can be used as landing pages for ads, in email marketing, on social media, and to attract visitors to your website. 

9. Prospect expired listings and FSBOs through cold calling.

   Expired listings from your MLS and FSBOs can be a great way to score seller leads. Keep in mind that leads from expired listings might be frustrated after poor experiences with other agents. Be sure to share information on how working with you will be different. Having trouble making enough calls throughout the day? Increase your efficiency and productivity by utilizing Sierra’s real estate dialer, which allows you to effortlessly connect with a larger volume of prospects and maximize your outreach efforts.

10. Build a networking group with local service providers.

    In real estate, it’s all about who you know. And few people are better to know than your local service providers — the painters, carpenters and contractors who sellers are bound to call. Forming personal relationships with these companies can be a great way to hear about homes about to go on the market before anyone else. Plus, once homeowners hear you’re someone with a great fix-it network, you may be more likely to be on their list when it’s time to sell.

11. Work open houses to generate seller leads.

    Sick of staring at your screen, trying to generate leads? Then get out to an open house. These are perfect opportunities to meet people who are ready to sell. Whether they’re serious about listing their home or are just curious to see what competition in the area is like, these are great places to have a casual, face-to-face conversation with a potential client.

12. Leverage Facebook ads.

    There are countless ways to utilize Facebook for seller lead gen, but one potentially overlooked strategy is to focus on specific interest groups that can help generate leads for you. Think how a local mom group could direct you to parents looking for a bigger home, or how attorneys might introduce you to recent divorcees. Use Facebook to find these people and start building relationships. You may be surprised. Here are some examples of effective real estate ads for Facebook and other platforms

13. Help distressed homeowners.

    No one wants to be forced to sell, but sometimes homeowners face unfortunate circumstances. Tread lightly and use a healthy dose of compassion when working with this segment. There’s no value in being a vulture. Instead, listening to their needs and helping them sell their home can help them avoid foreclosure and maybe even put them back on the road to recovery. That would be a win-win.

14. Convert renters into sellers.

    Renting out a home has its appeal, but it also comes with a host of headaches. There’s the maintenance, the administration, the rent collection, and, if they’re unlucky, the evictions. Explaining these costs to your clients, while also helping them understand the true value of their home, may be enough to convert them into sellers instead.

15. Join a team of experienced listing agents.

    Leaning on the advice (and the networks) of other listing agents can be a quick and easy way to get more leads fast. While this may not be ideal for those who’d rather work on their own, there’s really no substitute for the collective years of experience that others in your field can bring. 

16. Connect with home flippers and real estate investors.

    Buying and refurbishing old homes has become popular among a wide array of real estate investors. Chances are, there are entire neighborhoods in your city where this is happening. Jump on this trend by reaching out to these individuals and convincing them you’re the agent to sell their property. They’ll likely be motivated to sell fast and frequently, potentially setting you up for a stream of sales.

17. Host an event.

    Everyone likes a party, so why not throw one for your clients and their friends? Try to make it memorable. It can be something simple like renting out a movie theater or a few rows at a baseball game, or you could make it more elaborate. All that really matters is that it’s fun for everyone. The more people who leave talking about it — and you — the more likely you’ll be recommended to others when it comes time to sell a home.
    
    

    Bonus tip: Use predictive analytics and machine learning to identify seller leads you already have.

    Level up your use of technology to identify and engage with seller leads. Tools like Revaluate analyzes your database to identify leads most likely to move in the next six months through a weighted scoring system based on key life change information like deaths, divorces, marriages, job changes, and more. 

Remember that whatever strategies and tactics you use to get more home listings, consistency and persistence are key. Often it’s a combination of good old-fashioned prospecting and relationship building augmented by strong marketing and technology that will build the most pipeline for real estate teams, but don’t be afraid to try new things. Track which lead sources and tactics are most successful to refine your approach over time.

Did you know? Ricky Cain and the Cain Realty Group generated 700 Seller Leads in 6 Months with Sierra Interactive. Learn more. 

Interested in lead generation? Check out the 15 best real estate lead generation ideas & strategies.